Chicago Bears: Former Bears coach Marc Trestman going to XFL

In a strange twist to an interesting career, former Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman will get another shot to lead a team . . . in the XFL.

The Chicago Bears were nothing special under former coach Marc Trestman. The longtime Canadian Football League coach came to the Bears in 2013 ready to implement his innovative offense.

It worked for all of one season, kind of. The Bears finished 8-8 that season, and 5-11 the next season. Trestman was fired after just two years with the team.

Now, the journeyman coach faces a new chapter in his career. It was reported on Saturday by the Tampa Bay Times that Trestman will be the head coach for the yet to be named Tampa Bay football franchise for the rebooted XFL.

For all you youngsters out there, the XFL was a very short-lived football league created by WWE owner Vince McMahon. At the time the league launched in 2001, it was aiming to be a counter-culture version of the NFL.

The gameplay in the XFL was supposed to be more extreme, more hardcore. There were no fair catches. The players were encouraged to date the cheerleaders (yes, really). They replaced the coin toss with whatever this is.

It actually got good ratings for the first week, but the league quickly faded into obscurity. More and more WWE employees started to show up on the broadcast and fans realized the quality of the football was lacking.

There were also confusing storylines that seemed produced by WWE writers like the one that involved a coach having a feud with sideline reporter Jesse Ventura.

Hopefully, Trestman won’t have to partake in any of those type of antics in the new XFL. However, not much is known about the reboot of the league. Games are slated to start in 2020, and eight cities have been announced as hosts for new XFL teams.

Other more legitimate hires have been made by the league. Former NFL quarterback and College Football Playoff Selection Committee member  Oliver Luck was announced as XFL Commissioner.

Former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops was also announced as a head coach for the Dallas franchise, which is actually a pretty head-turning get for the league that was once a laughingstock.

The league released a couple of odd promo songs about the XFL along with a press conference where McMahon said that players would be forced to stand for the national anthem.

He also said that players with a criminal record couldn’t play in the XFL. Luck has already walked back that comment.

For Trestman, his vertical style of offense may actually work in the XFL. NFL defenses were able to figure out Trestman’s offense after one successful season. Maybe in the XFL, it won’t be so easy.

Who knows? Trestman has gone from the Bears to the Baltimore Ravens, back to the CFL, and now to the XFL. Maybe he can make something out of nothing in a league that doesn’t even have team names yet.